YESWai

Top of the afternoon to you. We are still alive don't worry. We've returned to spread news of a friend on a mission. Wei sets off on her first ever Glastonbury adventure tonight. To make it even more special she is performing like a monkey to bring you 'YesWei'. Think of it as a 21st century version of the cult 90's show Challenge Aneka.

Visit YesWai to lay down the next big challenge and stay up to date with her completed tasks. She will be running the blog via her mobile phone once on site. Break a leg Wai. Don't worry that's not a challenge from us, we miss you already.

Haway the lads

On Tuesday we went to a private screening of Awaydays down at the The Moving Picture Company (MPC.)

Above: Director Pat Holden and one of the leading actors Liam Boyle (Elvis).

In brief : Awaydays is based on the bestselling novel by Kevin Sampson. Set in the post-punk era in the North West of England. Paul Carty (Nicky Bell) is 19, good-looking, funny, clever - and bored out of his mind. His mother died a year ago. He lives in middle class suburbia with his silently grieving father and feisty young sister, Molly. Carty works as a junior civil servant and spends all his wages on gigs, clubs, records and football. It's at a match that he meets Elvis (Liam Boyle). 

Elvis changes everything. He's part of a gang called The Pack. The Pack is legendary; they dress in a cultish, almost effeminate style that's at odds with the Boneheads and Bootboys they fight against. They have androgynous wedge haircuts worn with Lacoste tennis shirts, Lois jeans and Adidas Forest Hills training shoes. For as long as he has been going to football, Carty has been fascinated by The Pack. Now Elvis is offering him a way in..

Hopefully the guys from MPC will be popping in next week to have at even more filmic delights and we'd both highly recommend the movie too! It's out May 22nd ... today. So go see it!

Catchy Track, Beautifully Shot, Beautifully Edited

Casual Nabs Chat

When we say chat, we mean an opportunity to share an evening with the industries absolute cream. 

The event was hosted by no less than Sir John Hegarty, the H of the BBH global empire and the 'Michael Parkinson' of the evening, seated far left. With Hegarty, a panel including from L to R, one half of the BBH ECD team and close protégé to the host, Nick Gill. Second in line "the number one most awarded director in the world" Danny Kleinman. Thirdly creative partner at Adam&Eve, Ben Priest and last and least...Tony Davidson, part of the all-conquering creative duo at W+K London.

Slightly expensive at £45 for an hour and a half, we were lucky enough to get tickets through work. Awesome experience, looking forward to seeing Hegs again the week after next at D&AD.

A View From The Afternoon

Working in central Soho on Argyll Street certainly has its perks. Especially when you glance out of the window; things change. Today features the addition of a rather fetching bicycle, as its polka-dot and features the word 'Jigsaw' i gather its a tactical for Jigsaw. Strange and interesting but relevant? Not to be outdone the even stranger EDF technician has decided to stick the most random pice of Manchester United action to the inside of the back of the door on his van. I'd also love nothing more than staring at Eddy Van Der Sar and John O'Shea in my mirror. Of course they have the league in the bag tomorrow too, don't they? More relevant than the Jigsaw piece then.

Morph and Gromit ruck!?

(Ruck: A geordie proverb for shag...what elese?)

Some exciting characters were in the office today. Jennie from Aardman brought Wallace & Gromit as well as Morph and Shaun the Sheep for us to fool around with.

Well well well ... we've been delving into new biscuit barrels and getting our mittens into a new blog for Inferno group (our home for the moment).

The blog... predominantly client facing, is an accumulation of interesting things that get sent around the office on a daily basis and now we're sharing them with the world.

Tuck in.

Picked up this nice little snapper today. The ZENIT-E was made in the USSR around the 1970's. Looks like a nice little thing but the proof is in the pictures...stay posted.

My Bedside Books

When i say bedside, its more accurately the living room and when i say my, i mean i'll take the chance to blame my live-in girlfriend for the slightly questionable 'why!?' books, not that you'll believe me. Anyway this project all stemmed from a Flickr group, initiated by Mike, a friend of Dan Germain, blogged about by Lucy & Jade. They've all uploaded their bedrooms...you should too.

Only In Latvia...?

A bizarre hospital-themed restaurant in Latvia is serving food resembling body parts.

Decked out in a sterile, modern medical environment and boasting scantily clad nurses, the Hospitalis in Riga serves hearty Latvian dishes and a macabre cake topped with realistic-looking body parts such as fingers, noses and tongues. Served on gurneys and operating tables, the restaurant provides diners with cutlery such as syringes, tweezers and scalpels to devour their meals. Owned by a group of local doctors, Hospitalis also has a trendy cocktail bar where bartenders in white lab coats mix drinks into beakers and test tubes. Guests are treated to disturbing dinner entertainment including morbid tunes on violins, while deranged patients are escorted through the restaurant in straightjackets and wheelchairs. Sounds like fun we thinks.

Bookcrit awards.

Could this be the future of the book crit?

Sing it loud and proud

A bit Tracy Chapman-esq in sound, but who doesn't love a bit of the Chapmeister?! A cool new British lass with a guitar and weird hair. Karima Francis have a geg.

On the Spotify

Spotify allows you to legally access every single music track (or just about) and stream them without paying a penny. A good tool to try before you buy or download from Limewire.

Also great for house parties now that music vids are no longer on youtube. It also suggests other music artists of similar genre. Endless inspiration and all that jazz.

Kutiman Rocks

Have a look.

The Forth Plinth

This summer, sculptor Antony Gormley invites you to help create an astonishing living monument. He is asking the people of the UK to occupy the empty Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square, a space normally reserved for statues of Kings and Generals, in an image of themselves, and a representation of the whole of humanity.

Every hour, 24 hours a day, for 100 days without a break beginning on 6^th July, a different person will make the Plinth their own – an uninterrupted succession of 2400 volunteers creating a unique portrait of the UK in the 21^st century.

You can play your part in making this idea a reality – either by volunteering yourself, by telling others about it, or experiencing it online or on the square itself. Register your interest, we’ll see you on the ‘Forth Plinth’.